The Hitting Zone

Thursday morning, a knock on the bedroom door brought a sense of dread as Noah and I got up.

Surprisingly, it was Mr. Atkins. He raised an eyebrow at our half-dead expressions. "Did you boys not sleep well?"

Noah curled back under his covers. "Dad, I thought you were Zeke! How dare you trick us!"

I flopped back in bed in agreement.

Mr. Atkins laughed. "Well good morning to you too." He stood in the doorway, letting even more light in the room. "I just wanted to say that your mom and I are going to hit the road. We'll bring Gramma and Grampa home before lunch so try not to stuff your faces before then."

"Dad, let us go back to sleep before Zeke comes, okay?" Noah mumbled from under his covers.

"Too late." Mr. Atkins chuckled.

I took a peek and sure enough, Zeke was right behind Mr. Atkins. "Let's hit the pavement kiddos."

Noah threw his comforter off him. "This isn't fair."

"How so?" Zeke asked. "I'm running with you."

"I've lost out on three minutes of sleep." Noah groaned.

I continued to stay in bed, also unwilling to get up.

"You boys have fun, I need to hit the road." Mr. Atkins started to back out of the room. "Remember, no snacking. Shower and dress up in nice clothes. We'll be going out for lunch. Then Zeke's graduation. And then another nice dinner." He left.

Zeke clapped twice. "Up and at 'em. We leave in ten minutes. Eat a banana and drink some water."

"I rather sleep." Noah complained, but still got out of bed.

I sighed and started to move too. There's no point in trying to go back to sleep. A waste of effort.

Seeing that we were moving, Zeke left us alone to get dressed.

Noah had started getting changed, but abruptly laughed, making me jump. I turned to see him shirtless and looking down at his running shorts. He looked up at me and grinned. "Notice anything different?"

I shrugged. "You're starting to show some ab muscles?"

"Am I really??" He went to the mirror and started to admire his thin frame. He ran his fingers over his abdominal muscles. "They're starting to take shape! Awesome!"

I put a hand on my stomach over my shirt. I was more firm than when I first came to Watsonville, but I don't have muscles like Noah.

Noah noticed that I went quiet. He faced me and gave a small laugh. "Ha...that wasn't what I was talking about, but thanks for the compliment. I wanted you to look at my shorts."

I looked at it and shrugged. "What about them?"

Noah used his fingers to show the gap between his knee and the bottom of his shorts. "There's more space! I'm really growing! Like right now! I finally feel like I'll reach six feet like Zeke and the twins."

"Lucky you." I pouted.

Noah laughed and came closer to smack me on the back. "You're growing too! Not as fast as me, but you're coming off a rough childhood. Give it more time. Like by next year, you'll see some real progress." He grabbed a pencil off the desk and went to our room door. "Come here."

I obediently went over. He pushed me against the door and I stood up straight. Then he marked my height. I stepped away and watched him write my name and today's date on the door. Then he did the same for himself. "There! We can measure again next month before we go to the Stanford camp."

"Noah!!" A shout came from outside our room. "Jake!! Time to go!"

We both made a face.

"Crap!" Noah scrambled to get his shoes on.

I did the same, beating him. I sprinted downstairs and grabbed a banana, opening and eating it in record time.

Dave laughed. "If you were hungry, you should have hurried down to begin with. What were you guys doing up there?"

"I bet they went back to sleep." Kyle yawned from his spot at the table.

"No." Noah made it to the table and also reached for a banana. "I got taller again. Plus, I have some real ab muscles now!" He lifted his shirt. "Look! Actually visible!"

"Nice!" Dave nodded.

"Mine look better." Kyle stood up and showed off his ab muscles.

"Why bother competing when you two can't measure up to Zeke?" Dave asked.

"You're just jealous." Kyle told him.

"You guys ready yet?" Zeke came in the room, making the conversation stall.

I finished my banana and threw the peel away. Noah did the same. We both stood in front of Zeke obediently, prepared for the torture run.

Zeke nodded at us. "Alright. Let's go. Dave, Kyle, if you two slack off, don't cry to me when you get out of shape."

All of us were ready, and followed Zeke out front. He started at a leisurely pace, but I wasn't fooled. Him and Noah leave me behind when we get to the hill around the corner. The twins, on the other hand, were talking smack about how easy the run is. I could only shake my head at their talk and focused on keeping even breaths.

Sure enough at the hill, Zeke and Noah left me behind, upping their speed. Kyle and Dave stayed with me, jaws dropped.

"Do they leave you behind like this every time?" Kyle asked, breathing a little harder.

I nodded, unable to explain.

"Jerks." Dave gasped.

We powered up the hill with the occasional curses from the twins. Having them with me boosted my self-confidence. Once upon a time, they would have left me in the dust. Now we're keeping the same pace. It's probably a mix of me getting in better shape and them getting out of shape. They haven't run nearly the same amount as me and Noah since baseball season ended. All they did was play in the backyard with their pitching.

We reached home last, finding the garage open. Zeke was showing Noah some new ab exercises. He saw us coming up the driveway, trying to catch our breath. He frowned. "Did you guys run with Jake the whole way?"

Dave nodded, unashamed. "Have to. Keep. An eye. On him." He put his hands on top of his head.

Zeke stood up. "It's very important for pitchers to have great endurance. Do you guys want to pitch the whole seven innings or not? Do you really think that these college coaches can't tell that you're not in shape." He eyed Kyle. "You need to start running everyday."

Kyle nodded. "Yea...I think so too." He looked down at me. "You're getting stronger though. Hard to believe you couldn't do a lap around the baseball field without collapsing."

I waved him away like an annoying fly. "Tell me something I don't know."

Dave busted up laughing. Noah joined in too.

Kyle rolled his eyes and went to grab the dumbbells. "You hang out with Noah too much."

Zeke directed me to a different exercise while Dave started with pushups and planks. Their garage and driveway became a makeshift gym on a Thursday morning. The cool air made it bearable. I feel like this will be the new normal starting today.